How to Disaster-Proof Your Home

When you read that title, chances are your mind immediately went to natural disasters!

Photos By: Stock Images

While they are something you should prepare for, we are focusing on the universal problems that can sneak up on you. They are the risks that aren’t as well showcased and might even have a good preventative measure in place. 

If you’re worried about the people in your home and keeping them safe, take a look at our simple solutions to avoid disaster in the home. 

Test the radon in your home

Another issue in the home that could result in health issues is radon. A lot of radon exposure could result in a diagnosis of lung cancer, and it has no visible tells. You can’t taste, feel or smell it, which means you could be living in a radon area and not know it. 

It’s worth testing your home to see what you are dealing with once in a while. If you’re worried about radon levels in your home, get your radon test kit here. From there, you can work on reducing the amount of radon in your home, like replacing or adding ventilation bricks or installing a pump that blows in clean air. 

Ensure your smoke and carbon monoxide alarm are functional

Then there are the universal things that can go wrong no matter what part of the world you’re in. A stove can be left on, a boiler can start to malfunction, and before you know it, you’re hopefully talking to a doctor about the near miss you encountered.

This is why it’s important to keep your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm functioning. Test them both once a month to make sure the batteries don’t need changed. Carbon monoxide poisoning is considered less common and therefore not as urgent, but it can occur slowly and due to a lot of common things, like malfunctioning boilers and gas fires, central heating systems, water heaters, cookers, and open fires, as well as leaving the car running and smoking. 

Whereas a smoke alarm’s ability to save lives is well documented. You should have at least one on each level of the house, so that it isn’t too late to get out the front door if there is an alarm going off downstairs while you’re asleep. 

If all else fails… 

Get homeowners insurance. Failing that, and with the state of the housing market today, you might want to look into renters’ insurance. Both options will cover the contents of your home, including personal belongings, electronic devices, and personal belongings. It won’t bring your things back, but it will allow you to replace almost everything. 

As for homeowners, your insurance will cover everything inside the house and the structure of the house itself, so you will be able to rebuild or rejuvenate if something disastrous happens to your home. Prevention is obviously better than getting a payout, but we can’t see everything coming in the future, so insurance is your best bet.